First full rollout of e-MAS service claimed
Co-operative Group Pharmacy is claiming that it has become the first in Scotland to implement the electronic Minor Ailments Service (e-MAS) across all of its sites, part of a contract that allows pharmacists to dispense medication for easily-spotted conditions. All 39 pharmacies across the country are now linked into NHSnet and training has now […]
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GP2GP record transfer is NPfIT’s ‘most wanted’
GP2GP patient record transfer is the service that GPs would most like to see delivered by the National Programme for IT, according to a survey carried out this month. A total of 390 GPs took part in the online survey conducted by GP system supplier In Practice Systems which asked GPs to rate which NPfIT […]
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Unichem connects for Electronic Prescription Service
Pharmaceutical wholesaler UniChem and its retail arm Alliance Pharmacy has announced that it has selected virtual networking company Sirocom to provide a managed broadband service to 1,000 of its pharmacies. The broadband connections are being implemented to enable the roll out of Electronic Prescribing Services by connecting allowing its pharmacies to connect to the NHS […]
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Pharmacists to get access to EPS but not CRS
Pharmacists are to be registered for access to the NHS spine to enable electronic transmission of prescriptions but will be excluded from access to the NHS Care Records Service for the time being, latest guidance reveals. The guidance sent out to primary care trusts by the Department of Health and NHS Connecting for Health states […]
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Warning on patient data from medicines reviews
Pharmacists are being warned not to e-mail medicines use reviews to GPs until concerns over confidentiality have been addressed. The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee says there has been an “exponential increase” in the number of medicines use reviews (MURs) currently being carried out by pharmacists and that many GPs have asked to receive the MUR […]
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Pharmacists urged to contact PCTs on smart cards
Pharmacy representatives are telling pharmacists to contact their primary care trusts over smartcard availability as Connecting for Health publishes its first set of guidance for pharmacists on the electronic prescription service (EPS). The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee says it is “strongly advising” pharmacists to contact their PCT to find out what the local arrangements will […]
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Pharmacists call for GP booking facility
Pharmacy representatives are calling for a ‘Choose and Book’ style system to be set up between pharmacies and GP practices so that pharmacists can book GP appointments for patients. The idea has been proposed by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) as part of its submission to the Department of Health’s consultation […]
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N3 connections needed say community pharmacists
Lack of access to smartcards and the N3 network by community pharmacists is jeopardising the roll out of the electronic prescribing service (EPS) and important elements of the new pharmacy contract, according to the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC). But NHS Connecting for Health has rejected the claim, saying that the EPS is rolling out […]
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Scottish pharmacists receive extra IT funding
Pharmacists in Scotland are to receive £500 in the latest round of IT funding to prepare for the launch of their new contract in April 2006. The Scottish Executive Health Department (SEHD) has announced that every pharmacy contractor will receive £500 towards the cost of installing software to run an electronic minor ailment service. It will […]
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Seven pharmacy systems accredited for R1 ETP
Seven out of 11 pharmacy systems have attained technical accreditation for release one of electronic transmission of prescriptions (ETP) according to Connecting for Health (CfH). However technical accreditation does not equate to compliance which will only be achieved once a system has been successfully tested at an initial implementer site. CfH this week posted details […]
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